Adventure Magazine, March 1916 — page 104: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

-102 farm forgotten, his whole energy in the work ahead. Then, toward evening of the fourth day, when the little pool was full, and there must have been a quarter-million of barrels in the larger one, the crash came. The drought and dead air had hung on, the gulch getting ever fuller of gas, and all lights were prohibited. Guards were sta- tioned in a wide ring around the place, and every one was warned. Preparations were being made to cap the flow and bring it under control when the accident came. Red was hurled half-way up the hill, where his head struck a rock and his body lay doubled up on a little shelf. A semi- consciousness of a great sheet of flame and a quick lurch through the air was all. Then there seemed to be voices around him, he was pulled and hauled about, a great light shone around, and again all was black. When he came to once more, his head was aching furiously and he lay indifferent to everything, till one familiar object after an- other forced itself on his attention, and he found that he was in his own shack. Some- body was talking outside, though the words woke no consciousness for awhile, then—— “T don’t hold with these yere projeckings. That thar Irisher, he wanted me to go toting of a shovel too, but, no sah, and doggone glad I am of it. Lookit him lying thar with a busted head. Yes,sah! An’ they’s three on ’em killed, an’ mighty nigh a dozen laid up. Some of ’em’s burned to a crisp, I — reckon.”’ So that was it. Yes, he remembered now. The explosion! He made shift to sit up. At the sound a shadow darkened the door, and Dave en- tered, followed by another man. “Wall, I reckon,” broke out the kind- hearted Arkansan, ‘‘he’s settin’ up, ’most as peart-lookin’ as ever.” _ “What’s happened?” queried Red. “TI remember flying up the hill, but that’s about all. And you were talking of some one killed.” A workman in one of the shanties rolled a cigarette, then, with foolish carelessness, struck a match to light it, and the next mo- ment the heavens were ablaze. The air of the valley was full of gas: it just exploded. This he gathered from the talk of the two. “And the well?” he asked. “Great day in the mornin’!” broke in the other man. “She’s a-spoutin’ flame mighty -—s*inigha hundred feet into the air, an’ that’s a ~ Adventure fact. Yes,sah! She sure is doin’ that little thing.” “And the pools of oil?” “Well!” drawled Dave, “them thar pools is a-puzzlin’ more’n you an’ me. Thar’s a kinder notion as the reason they ain’t cotched is because when the gas flared up, th’ oil-well caught at th’ top. Maybe it did, an’ then again, maybe it didn’t. Any- way, th’ pools is safe enough, I reckon.” “They’ve been a-projeckin’ roun’ a pesky heap since then, tryin’ ter get it | under,” said the other, ‘“‘but I tell you, sah, it’s like that thing in th’ good Book, ‘a pil- lar of fire by night;’ that’s what it surely is.”’ “Now you-all turn “round and go ter sleep. They’s some good chicken gumbo on th’ stove, an’ you-all’s goin’ to swaller it, an’ then take a snooze. They’s a knot on th’ back of your haid, where you lammed th’ rock, as a turkey hen might use for an egg. They’s a letter on th’ cheer for you, but I guess it ain’t no hurry, an’ kin wait a while,” and good-natured Dave, fussing around as he chattered, brought a bowl of bread and soup to the cot, and Red ate ravenously. Then, lying back, he quickly fell asleep. mi SOMETHING awoke him with a HF start, and he sat up in bed wonder- ~ ing what could be the matter. The windows were rattling, even then, so he knew it was no dream, and hustling on his clothes he went to the door and looked out. Another explosion, he thought, though of | what he could not imagine, and, after look- ing out fora moment, he turned and went back. A wash and some coffee made him feel more like a man, and then, remembering the letter, he took it off the chair and read it; it was from the girl, who told him that her father was dead. The short note was full of grief, and begged him to come home to her. His face fell, and he started to his feet and was pacing back and forth, when an- other roar such as had waked him burst on the air. The house shook, and the windows rattled almost like a bombardment, and he listened for he knew not what, while his ragged nerves began to quiver. “More gas, I suppose!” he muttered, but his thoughts were broken by the entrance of Dave, whose face was wreathed in its usual good-natured smile. “They shore is mussing things up,” he 000) ANKE "CO S ~ (E(0)